The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic characters

Also known as Becky

Appears from the start

A London financial journalist whose professional familiarity with savings products has not translated into control of her own spending. Becky is imaginative, sociable, and skilled at rationalizing purchases while avoiding bank statements and creditors. She wants the security and glamour that money seems to promise, but her evasions steadily make her situation worse.

Also known as Suze

Appears from the start

Becky's wealthy, generous flatmate and closest friend. Suze enjoys fashion and nights out but does not share Becky's precarious finances, and she offers practical and emotional support without initially understanding the full scale of the debt.

First appears in chapter 2

The successful founder of Brandon Communications, a public-relations firm serving major financial clients. Luke is controlled, perceptive, and far more interested in the realities of business than in the superficial language surrounding it. Becky alternately finds him infuriating and compelling.

Appears from the start

The persistent bank manager responsible for Becky's overdrawn account. His increasingly urgent letters and attempts to arrange a meeting represent the financial facts she keeps trying to escape.

First appears in chapter 3

Becky's mother, who lives with her husband in the Surrey home where Becky grew up. Warm, energetic, and proud of her daughter, she assumes Becky's work makes her highly competent with money.

First appears in chapter 3

Becky's affectionate and practically minded father. He follows financial news and trusts his daughter's apparent expertise, leaving Becky uncomfortable when family friends seek her advice.

First appears in chapter 3

The Bloomwoods' kind neighbours and long-standing friends. Janice looks on Becky almost as family and believes her financial journalism makes her a reliable guide to savings decisions.

First appears in chapter 3

Janice's husband and another close friend of Becky's parents. His family's dealings with an investment company eventually give Becky a reason to examine the industry she usually covers without much conviction.

Also known as Tarquin

First appears in chapter 9

Suze's extremely wealthy cousin, whom Becky meets as a possible date. Tarquin is shy, earnest, and much less polished than his fortune might suggest, making Becky's attempts to impress him particularly awkward.

First appears in chapter 5

An elegant employee of Brandon Communications. Alicia's confidence, expensive appearance, and easy familiarity with Luke make her a focus for Becky's insecurity and competitive imagination.

First appears in chapter 2

Becky's colleague at the financial magazine Successful Saving. Elly understands the routine of producing worthy articles about products neither woman finds very exciting and provides companionship in an office Becky dreams of leaving.

First appears in chapter 2

The editor of Successful Saving. Philip expects reliable copy on personal finance and largely accepts Becky's professional persona, despite her limited enthusiasm for the technical subjects assigned to her.